Mayfair’s The Square is getting a big refurb, and a new chef too

Summing it all up: Clément Leroy helped earn Paris’s Restaurant Guy Savoy its third Michelin star, shuns butter and cream in favour of lightness and texture, and is the new head chef at swish Mayfair restaurant The Square.

The low-down

If you’ve been missing The Square since then good news - following Phil Howard’s departure to pastures greener, they’re currently undergoing a big refurb and are reopening, freshly refreshed, and with newly appointed head chef Clement Leroy.

For The Square, that means French food with a focus on lightness and texture rather than buckets of butter and cream, due in no small part to Clement’s experience at a range of high-end restaurants in France. Most notably of these is Restaurant Guy Savoy, where he worked under the eponymous head chef for a whole decade, and formed part of the team that helped earn the restaurant its third Michelin star back in 2002.

Among the dishes on the newly relaunched menu, we’ve been told to anticipate some of Clément's signature dishes, which focus on seasonal, autumnal ingredients.

The restaurant’s new look should feel very smart indeed, from square glass blocks on internal walls to allow in more light, to displays of contemporary art.

“We cannot wait for our loyal, local clientele to experience the new The Square,” said the restaurant’s general manager. “The minimal, architectural approach to the environment will set the tone of the rarefied experience, in keeping with the style and sophistication found in the menu, food execution and presentation.”